Petscop

Inside the game

• Guardian or Newmaker – The player character that Paul controls. It is a green animal-like creature of an unknown species.
• Red Tool – A large red object that the player can ask questions to, though it usually responds with "I don't know". It is found under the Newmaker Plane, in a room with a view of a windmill. Various other 'tools' in different colors are found across the series.
• Marvin – Marvin exists as a character in the game, and as a person mentioned in real life. Presumably, the real Marvin is playing the game as his avatar. Paul identifies him as the strange, green-faced creature in "Petscop 8". He is the father of Care, and kidnapped her in 1997 to perform rebirthing. Marvin appears occasionally to assist Paul, and they learn to communicate in an esoteric PlayStation controller language. In certain recordings, Marvin is seen playing sections of the game which specifically address him, implying the game was made for Marvin to find. Marvin later turns on Paul, and somehow hurts him physically in "Petscop 23".
• Carrie Mark (Care) – Care is depicted in the game and is mentioned to have existed in real life. She was abducted for a period in 1997 before returning—what happened in the interim is unknown, as is what happened afterwards. In the game, she is considered a "pet" and is caught under the Newmaker Plane. She exists in three different states: A (before her kidnapping), B (during her captivity) and NLM ("Nobody Loves Me", after escaping). A fourth state exists, depicted as a literal Easter egg, after her failed "rebirthing" attempt in "Petscop 23". She is depicted only as a static item.
• Michael Hammond (Mike) – A 7-year-old boy who lived from 1988 to 1995. His tombstone is found by Paul in the game, and he is later implied to be Rainer's brother, making him the cousin of Care. The circumstances of his death are unknown, but it is implied that Petscop was originally created to be his birthday gift.
• Lina Leskowitz – Carrie's aunt, who went missing as a girl in 1977—along with an entire windmill, which vanished behind her. Marvin saw this happen, and later believed that Lina was "reborn" into his daughter, Care. Lina is thanked for "making [the game] possible" and is referred to as "boss"; the series ends with Paul and Belle walking into her. It is repeatedly said that "not everyone" can see her.

Outside of the game

• Paul – Identified as such only due to naming his save file, Paul is quiet and investigative and is the voice heard and one playing the game during the initial episodes of Petscop. Nothing is definitively known about his connection to the family, other than his recognition of some events, and his desire to uncover the secrets of the game. There are several parallels between him and Care, implying a surrealistic connection between the two. Near the end of the series, there are several references to Paul being under some form of surveillance or being in captivity.
• Belle (also known as Tiara Leskowitz) – Throughout the series, Paul addresses a specific person, even in its first line: "This is just to prove to you that I'm not lying about this game I found." In "Petscop 22", Paul refers to this person as "Belle". A person named Tiara, first mentioned by the Tool and in a note in "Petscop 5", is depicted as an in-game character. Later in the series, the character insists her name is Tiara not Belle. In the series epilogue, Belle asks Paul if he remembers being "born"; when they were "smuggled away" by Lina, implying a family relationship.
• Rainer – Presumably a nickname for Care's cousin, Daniel Hammond. Rainer is or was the lead developer of Petscop, and his motives for creating the game are unclear. Some elements of the game are intended for Marvin to see, and to uncover the mystery of where he took Care. Rainer had somehow been in contact with Paul in his childhood and may have been the person to give him Petscop.
• Anna – The wife of Marvin and mother of Care.
• Jill – The owner of the channel and Care's aunt, apparently a suspicious figure according to Paul.

Interpretations and cultural links

Petscop, as a video game, is fictional, although this was obscured for the entire run of the series. Some viewers were initially unsure as to whether "Paul" and Petscop were real, until further into the series when it became more surrealistic. Petscop was not officially identified as fiction until after the finale, when creator Tony Domenico—who had remained anonymous for the series' 30-month run—revealed himself on Twitter. In an interview, Domenico admitted that, while the story had a concrete plot, he chose to omit most of it, sometimes scrapping footage that was already done. "I hoped to get across a feeling like there's... something strange and complex happening in the background, and you just aren't getting a full view of it." In the darker sections of the game, there are many references to child abuse, childhood trauma, and irreparable corruption, making those recurring motifs throughout the series. In addition to these themes, Domenico has cited the Marble Hornets and Ben Drowned web series as influences, involving the audience by hiding things in each video. He also named the 2006 David Lynch experimental film Inland Empire as the strongest influence for the series and noted that "too much is lost in that translation into words". He also cited the musical subgenre vaporwave as an inspiration in an interview with Bandcamp.

The series' initial episodes also include allusions to Candace Newmaker and her death in rebirthing therapy. Throughout the series, the word "Newmaker" appears several times, both as the name of the location most of the series occurs within, and as a title given to Rainer, the Guardian character, and/or Paul himself. In addition, there is an area known as the "Quitter's Room", the repeated question "Do you remember being born?", and a character named Tiara. Domenico has stated that while the references were intentional, he later regretted them. Other references include a quote from the book Daisy-Head Mayzie by Dr. Seuss ("Good grief and alas"), and the imagery of the character Care crying underneath a large flower, which at first appears to be growing from her head.